Three Northern Ireland clergy, brothers Martin and Eugene O'Hagan and David Delargy, have landed a record deal with Sony BMG worth more than $A3 million. The Age reports that the men whose groups is know as "The Priests" have been singing together since they were boy trebles at school more than 30 years ago.
Martin and Eugene O'Hagan sing tenor while their childhood friend David Delargy sings bass/baritone.
"I suppose there are better-looking groups than us, and I'm sure there are better-sounding groups, but I suppose there is a kind of uniqueness to this line-up," reflects Father David, whose promotional schedule was delayed for 24 hours when he had to conduct a funeral.
Though they have not even finished their debut album yet - they will fly to Rome at the end of this month for some final recordings with two Vatican choirs in St Peter's Basilica - they have already been profiled in Time magazine. The American PBS network taped their performance last week in St Patrick's Cathedral in Armagh for a forthcoming broadcast.
The Priests' CD will be released by Sony BMG in November, in time for the Christmas surge that record companies rely on to ward off the spectre of bankruptcy, and it will be crammed with the kind of heart-warming fare deemed appropriate for the season of goodwill. There will be Schubert's Ave Maria, Cesar Franck's Panis Angelicus and Lloyd Webber's Pie Jesu, alongside hymns, traditional Irish pieces and some songs in Spanish.
Sony BMG's Epic label discovered the Priests after launching a search for individual singing priests to record a Latin Mass album. The threesome sent in a demo tape, forgot all about it, then were flabbergasted to learn that Epic wanted to sign them as a ready-made group.
The priests stress that profits, or most of them, will be donated to charity, while their contract has been worded to allow their priestly duties to take precedence over promotional chores."We were very receptive to the idea," says Fr Martin. "We weren't sure what would lie ahead, but we thought it would somehow be an extension of ministry and what we've been doing for a long time. We hope that the music will speak to all faiths and to those who have no faith."
"We don't abandon our faith or our priesthood or what we stand for," says Fr David.
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(Source: The Age)